The “Blob and  Blob Booby” are  patterns that have now been around for over 30 years. Yet they still evoke strong feelings and emotions in almost every fly fisherman. They are  “Marmite” flies  that you either love or hate. There is really no middle ground. However one thing that cannot be disputed is their effectiveness at catching trout on any water from small still waters to the largest reservoirs. This is true for both grown on resident fish and recent stocked fish. They are  a “must have” pattern for all anglers and cannot be ignored or silenced.

The origins of the Blob date back to the early 1990’s. Patterns and materials have changed significantly and attitudes towards the flies have mellowed slightly. They are now mainstream and accepted by the vast majority. Even those old school traditional anglers that once frowned upon the early examples of the patterns have a few modern blobs and blob boobies tucked away in their fly boxes for when no one else is around!

There are many theories as to the origins of the “Blob.” Some say it was spawned by the devil himself. An Attempt to take away the skill and enjoyment of “matching the hatch.” However, contrary to poplar belief the original blob was bright orange and called “Tango”. It was named after a soft drink in the 1990’s. A big, bold and brash pattern it was designed and first used by Lee Henfrey on Draycote, Eyebrook and Rutland back in the early 1990’s to devastating effect. He was able to keep the pattern totally secret for a number of years. He didn’t reveal it to anyone other than his teammates who were also sworn to secrecy. As such, he is often not credited with its creation

I was first introduced to the pattern in the spring of 1996 at Rutland Water. Dave “Curly” Docherty and I were fishing at the top of the North Arm along with 6 other boats. Everyone else appeared to be fishing nymphs and catching the occasional fish. Dave declared that he was going to fish a new pattern that he had acquired from an unknown angler (I have since discovered this was Paul McLinden). This angler had recently been very successful on Draycote after being given a local pattern. I have honestly never witnessed a fly make such a difference. It was amazing there were often 2 or 3 fish trying to take his fly on every cast. They had simply never seen anything like it before and we knew we had something very special. I enquired as to the tying and was told it’s basically just “a big Blob of fritz on a hook.” Just like that, the common name was spawned.

I began using the pattern in matches along with my teammates, and it’s fair to say it changed the way we fished and how we were perceived by an older generation of established competition anglers.

In 1998, with 4 of the team still teenagers, we went on to win the House of Hardy English Final and the International Final by pulling a Coral Blob at high speed. Never had such a young team won a major international fly fishing event. It was unprecedented and it caused ripples within the competition circuit. The term “Yobs with Blobs” was coined by a national newspaper and the fly immediately developed a poor image. As it was not seen as traditional or imitative fly-fishing, many of the older competition anglers wanted the pattern banned. Although young we were certainly not Yobs, but I accept we were different from the majority of competition fly anglers at the time. We were young, working class with a strong desire to win, and had a very competitive edge.

Blobs and Blob Boobies work because they are like no other pattern. They provided an intense hit of colour. Additionally, the bulky profile in the water creates disturbance and pulls fish to the cast as vibrations are felt along their lateral line.  However despite all the negative press I firmly believe that Blobs and Blob Boobies are basically updated versions of “traditional patterns.” For example, traditional wet flies such as a Claret Bumble, Oakhams Orange or Kate Mclaren etc, are all heavily palmered and are designed to be pulled to create a disturbance. In truth they are no different to a blob. It’s also worth highlighting that when pulling flies the anglers “work rate” is increased as you are covering more water with your casts and retrieve (compared to when fishing slowly). You are not waiting for the fish to come to you. It’s a method better suited to young, fit anglers as it is physically demanding over long periods of time.

By 2001 in was noticeable that the effectiveness of the orange blob was diminishing everyone was now using the pattern on the competition circuit and the fish had wised up to a certain extent due to angling pressure.  I had to find something different and so came up with the original two tone cocktail blob or the “Tequila Blob” so called because it looked like a tequila sunrise cocktail – this again proved highly effective and is still one of the top 3 Blob and blob booby patterns available.  

Changes to Blobs and Materials

Materials have improved significantly over the last 30 years. This has made a huge difference to the effectiveness of our blob patterns. Why do you think that the top competition anglers insist on the best and brightest products? They go as far as to source them from all over the country and then buying in bulk, which is no small task. It’s simply because they know the best materials make a huge difference to the effectiveness of flies and their overall catch rate. It gives them a distinct advantage.

To most anglers “Fritz” is still just a generic material. It’s a type of modern day chenille used in fly tying that comes in a range of different sizes and colours. The general assumption is that 15mm Orange Fritz is all pretty much the same, and  it doesn’t really matter what brand you choose. “Fritz is Fritz” as I’ve been told on many occasions.

Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s not an exaggeration to say the changes in modern fly tying materials are probably as great as the move from glass to carbon fibre in rod building.

Fritz first came on the market in the late 1980’s as “cactus chenille” or “estaz.” At the time it was a “modern” material and was undoubtedly cutting edge in that it allowed a fly tyier to updated old traditional patterns that only used fur or natural feathers. It provided an instant bling makeover.

Things have, again, changed dramatically over the last 10 years. This old style fritz is bulky and can often mask the hook and gape. This in turn reduces the amount of positive hook-ups from takes. It also lacks the intense colours now demanded by top match anglers. Lastly, it’s also lot less mobile in the water and doesn’t form the all important teardrop shape when pulled.

The main reasons for these failings are the nylon filaments in the fritz. It bulks out the material, reduces movement as they are stiff, and they don’t dye exceptionally well. This means that colours aren’t as bright and vivid as possible. Patterns tied with these materials will obviously work but just not as effectively as others. I think it’s worth highlighting that most fly-tying materials were originally produced for another market, such as clothing materials. They are mainstream because shrewd fly-tying manufacturers and retailers recognized that the product could also be used in fly-tying without much effort.

All-New Materials

A new Fulling Mill material has revolutionized our patterns on the competition circuit It’s called Translucent Cactus Chenille

As competition anglers we constantly demand softer, more mobile and brighter materials to give us an edge. As such, Fulling Mill’s Technical Manager Steve Carew scoured the globe for the best quality raw materials. He then utilised the dying team at Fulling Mill to produce a range of wonderful vibrant colours.

Steve has, in my opinion, improved “Fritz” yet again. A micro core is used in Fulling Mill  products making them thinner. The fibres are bonded to the core making them more resilient. And, the range of colours available is mind blowing.

As the Fulling Mill Cactus Chenille uses thin fibres it increases the total number of strands in  the actual material while keeping the same density. The more fibres there are, the more cut edges you have that allow the fluorescence of light and colour so the brighter the material. Most importantly, there are no supporting nylon fibres that in the Fulling Mill range that bulks out the fritz. The end result is a material that is more supple, visibly brighter, and has more movement. It ticks all the boxes. As a designer of flies and as an angler I can personally vouch for it’s effectiveness. In the 2022 competition season we used early samples of the Translucent Cactus Chenille to great effect, winning the Angling Trust Loch Style Championship at Draycote Water and finishing “Runners Up” in the Airflo European Team Final.

In short, Fulling Mill’s modern Translucent Cactus Chenielle is very easy to tie with. it sits well on the hook creating a slimmer, perfectly proportioned and more mobile pattern that doesn’t mask the hook point even when using smaller hooks. It’s significantly brighter than most products on the market and definitely catches you more fish.

The new range of Fulling Mill materials is stunning as are the new Blobs and Blob Boobies in their fly range. The materials and patterns make a visual statement to the fish and will undoubtedly increase your catch rate whether a pleasure angler of serious competition angler. My most effective pattern of the 2022 season was the Ham & Cheese Blob Booby when pulling or the Mini Ham & Cheese Booby when fishing the “Washing Line” method.

AS for materials I consider the following Fulling Mill Transclucent Cactus Chenielle essential if you want to tie effective Blobs & Blob boobies:

• Fluro Strawberry Cream. The fritz to use when the fish want a washed out non scary “Biscuit” type blob.
• Fluro Yellow. 2 turns is essential as a butt on cocktail blobs.
• Fluro Chartrause. The only colour for Cat’s Whisker type patterns.
• Fluro Sunburst Orange, Fluro Pink, Fluro Hot Coral. When you want a fly to “pop” and grab the fish’s attention there really are no brighter colours on the market.

As a competition angler I couldn’t be without the following patterns in both blob and booby form:

To read more articles from Rob, check out his profile on our blog.

Rob Edmunds

Rob Edmunds is a stillwater and reservoir fishing expert. "I began fly-fishing at just 4 years old and match fishing soon became my primary focus after first representing England at just 16 years of age. A stellar career beckoned and I've been fortunate enough to win a number (9) of European titles both individually and as part of a team. A creative fly-tyier and responsible for many of the popular patterns we now take for granted (Nemo, Tequila Blob, Traffic Light Buzzer, Snake Booby etc...). My focus has shifted slightly in recent years to targeting specimen trout. Currently the only person to have ever caught at least 1 "double figure trout" from all 4 of the Anglian Water Reservoirs. A regular contributor in the angling press for over 20 years (Trout Fisherman, Trout & Salmon) and well known on the stillwater and reservoir circuit.

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